Power strips are primarily designed to enable multiple electrical appliances and equipment to draw power from a single source such as a wall outlet. The mechanism for the power strips is well known, and its presence is pervasive in the marketplace today. A typical power strip has an elongated housing with multiple receptacles uniformly disposed in a single row along a top surface of the strip. Each receptacle is configured to receive an electrical plug of an appliance or equipment. The inside of the power strip housing may further include a surge protection circuitry and/or other circuit breaking devices. In addition to the receptacles on the top surface, an ON/OFF power switch and LED indicators for power and surge protection may also be found.
Power strips of this type have disadvantages. A power strip typically lies flat on a floor or a table close to a wall outlet. It could be easily placed alongside to a wall corner when electrical plugs are not coupled with the strip receptacles. However, the power strip does not have much stabilizing force by itself. As the electrical plugs are inserted into the receptacles, the pulling and tucking forces of the electrical cords dictate as to where the power strip is ultimately positioned. Wherever that ultimate position is, it is no longer likely to be positioned snugly alongside the wall corner, and therefore more space is taken than otherwise necessary. In other words, space savings could be had if the power strip has sufficient stabilizing ability to withstand the forces of the electrical cords. Therefore, it would be desirable to have a power strip adapted to channel the pulling and tucking forces of the electrical cords not to decrease but to increase its stability.
Moreover, a typical power strip does not provide any cord management feature. The electrical cords of the inserted plugs tend to project upward from the strip and in time are likely to create multiple interlocking loops. Plug dislodgment and personal injuries are the likely results when people or objects trip over these loops. It would be therefore desirable to have a power strip providing a cord management feature to minimize the risks of plug dislodgment and personal injuries.
In view of the foregoing, it is desirable to provide a power strip that does not take up much space whether or not in use with electrical plugs. Further, it is desirable to have a power strip that provides a cord management feature and that at the same time channels the forces of the electrical cords of the inserted plugs to increase its stability.
Additional features and advantages of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon review of the following summary, drawings, the detailed description and the appended claims.